Dead to Me
by CoCoPixie134
Summary: oneshot about graduation. please r&rno flames.


**As/n: Okay, this was the only thing that got me inspired in my writer's block so I had to write it down. The first flashback is just made up; the second is based on true events. It didn't happen the way it happens in the story.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. **

**The first song is credited in the story, the second song is owned by **

**Disney.**

Dead to Me

The Nerds

The sign above the stage outside East High read _Congratulations Seniors!_ Everyone was milling about getting set up for the graduation ceremony. Taylor was reviewing her Valedictorian speech and Gabriella was practicing the song she was singing that was dedicated to her class and her speech for the award she was getting in a few hours.

The Basketball Players

Troy and Chad were in the gym cleaning out their gym lockers and taking down their spirit signs. All they had left to do was autograph the basketballs when Troy began to talk.

"Hey, Chad, do you think that you might change your mind and come to college with all of us. I mean, you got accepted. And truth is I'm going to miss you a lot."

Chad laughed, "No way, man! I'm going to Seattle. Sorry."

Troy had prepared for this very moment, "Chad, come on… think of… Taylor."

"Troy, okay. You win, I give in," Chad admitted.

Troy laughed and threw Chad a basketball to sign.

The Dramatic

Sharpay and Ryan were in the theater taking down all of their awards and certificates. Ryan went into the dressing room that had been his for so long and began to collect his hats. Sharpay went into her dressing room, too. Looking around at all the pictures and programs, song sheets and costumes, a tear flowed down her cheek.

Ryan walked in and pulled her into a hug, "It's hard to believe."

Sharpay answered, "And hard to let go of. All those years," she said fingering the costumes on the wall, "all that drama. Thanks for everything, bro."

"No problem."

The Heartbroken

Kelsi put down the polish she was using on the piano and sat down. She began to play, her voice ringing small, but clear, "And as we go on, we remember all the times we had together. And as our lives change, come whatever, we will still be friends forever." Sharpay came out and finished the song with her, tears sliding down their cheeks.

**Flashback:**

_From dust to dust and to dust thou shall return. Take these souls, Jason and Zeke, and bring them into your eternal kingdom. You have called them to you, and they shall find peace in your kingdom._

The Principal

Principal Matsui grabbed his speech and put it in his pocket. He walked out into the halls of the school, seniors scattered about carrying boxes and old projects from their freshman years. They smiled to him, happy and sad all mixed together. The wall of senior pictures was being taken down and replaced with the junior's pictures.

He saw Taylor walking down the hall with a box of awards, pictures, and textbooks.

"Hey, Principal Matsui. Ready for the ceremony?" she asked cheerfully, though her slightly red eyes revealed that she'd been going through some high emotions recently.

He winked and said, "You bet'cha! Are you ready for your speech, Miss Valedictorian?"

Taylor pulled out her speech, "I hope so."

He laughed and patted her on the shoulder, "You'll be great, sweetie. Now, if you'll excuse me, there are many more seniors to talk to and only a few minutes until the ceremony starts," Taylor laughed and gave him a hug. Principal Matsui had been a sort of father to her during her high school years.

The Parents

Mr. and Mrs. Bolton entered the building and started their search for Troy. Luckily, they had met up with the Danforth's so they didn't have to look alone.

The parents didn't have to look long because Troy and Chad were heading down the hallway their parents were going up. The two boys were carrying huge boxes of things from the gym.

The families exchanged congratulations quickly then separated to go toward the ceremony.

…

The Evans and the Neilsons walked to the theater to help to graduates carry things out to their cars. They talked about how good it was going to be for their children to go to college together.

They entered the theater and found the kids packing up the last of their stuff and putting away cleaning supplies. Ms. Darbus walked over with a man no one had seen before.

"Hello all. May I introduce to you Mr. Gray? He will be East High's new drama teacher as of next year."

Everyone was shocked by the news of Ms. Darbus's retirement, but Mr. Gray seemed like a nice person. They talked to him for a minute, but soon they had to go to the ceremony.

…

Mrs. Montez hung up her phone. She had told Gabriella that she and Taylor's parents would meet them in the senior chemistry lab in ten minutes. She stood outside the school watching students, parents, and staff members getting ready for the ceremony. "I wonder if he'll come," she said to herself.

A few minutes later, the McKessies walked over to where Mrs. Montez was standing.

"Maria, so good to see you again," Janice, Taylor's mom exclaimed.

"Oh, it's great to see all of you!" Mrs. Montez responded.

"Maria," Nathan McKessie said, professionally extending his hand for her to shake.

After shaking his hand, Mrs. Montez said, "Well, I suppose we should go get those girls."

The Ceremony

The area where the stage was set up quickly began to fill with people. Younger brothers and sisters sat in chairs on the sides of the stage, and the seniors would be sitting in chairs on the back end of the stage.

Music began to play a few minutes later and the younger siblings each got up to say how they were going to miss their older siblings and cry a little. Then Principal Matsui signaled for the Vice Principal to start calling names.

…

Inside the tent behind the last row of chairs, 87 seniors huddled together in the order they were going out in. Troy slipped out of his place to go see Gabriella before they had to go out.

"Hey," she said as Troy approached, "Are you nervous?" she asked.

Troy smiled, "Me. Nervous? Yeah right," he chuckled. He immediately regretted it when he saw the look of terror on her face. She had never really gotten over her stage fright, and now she was about to sing with no one else beside her, "You'll be great, don't worry."

She nodded, but they didn't have time to say anything else because the Vice Principal had started to call the names.

"James Allen, Mary Aster, Brie Atwood, Joe Ball, Troy Bolton…" the seniors processed down the center of the chairs as their names were called one by one. Finally everyone was up on the stage. With a nod of encouragement from her friends, Gabriella stepped forward as Principal Matsui introduced her.

"Now, I present to you this year's winner of the Julie Hampton award for Excellence in Music, Miss Gabriella Montez. She will be singing "I am a Small Part of the World" by Sally K. Albrecht and Jay Althouse."

Gabriella stepped up to the microphone and began to sing:

_I am a small part of the world._

_I have a small hand which to hold._

_But if I stand by your side and you put your hand in mine,_

_Together we can be so strong and bold._

Gabriella started out soft and timid. Everyone was staring right at her, and that made her nervous. Luckily, the timidity went well with the first lines of the song.

_I am a small part of the world._

_I have a small dream in my eyes._

_But if I tell you my dreams, and if you add yours to mine,_

_Together we can reach up to the skies_

She looked around at all of her classmates, her favorite part of the song was coming up, and everyone knew that the crowd of people was in for a surprise.

_Hand in hand, dreams combine, _

_Voice with voice, together for all time._

_Hand in hand, dreams combine,_

_Voice with voice, together for all time._

She belted the chorus out with all of the breath and passion she had in her. The crowd started to enjoy the song better now.

_I am a small part of the world,_

_I have a small voice ringing clear._

_But if I sing out for freedom,_

_And you add your voice to mine,_

_Together we have nothing left to fear._

The whole crowd was entranced by the electricity flowing from the tiny girl up at the podium. They knew instantly why she had won the award.

_Hand in hand, dreams combine,_

_Voice with voice, together for all time._

_Hand in hand, dreams combine,_

_Voice with voice, for all time._

The rest of the class joined in while Gabriella went up to the descant part of the refrain.

_Hand in hand, dreams combine, _

_Voice with voice, together for all time._

_Hand in hand, dreams combine,_

_Voice with voice, for all time._

Gabriella sang again.

_I am a small part of the world._

The class joined her for the last line.

_Take my hand._

Everyone cheered wildly for her when the last note of music finished. Her smile was as bright as the sun, but her eyes didn't show it, "Thank you so much! As many of you know, I came to East High mid-way through my junior year. I found East High in a state of absolute cliques. Since then, I really believe that we have grown as a class to all be friends. There are a few people I want to thank especially and they are: my mom, for always keeping home pleasant during my transition, the teachers, for making the academic transition easier for me, the senior class, for welcoming me into their community, Taylor McKessie for helping me get through every hard time, Sharpay and Ryan Evans, for giving me a shining example, and Troy Bolton, for giving me something to believe in. Thank you everyone!" Gabriella walked back to her chair and Principal Matsui returned to the podium.

"It's time now for me to give out the diplomas," he announced with a tinge of regret in his voice.

The students filed up to the front of the stage one by one each receiving a document that they would cherish forever, their East High diploma. Slow piano music played as the seniors received their diploma's and shook the hands that they had to shake.

No one noticed the silent tears running down Sharpay and Kelsi's faces when they received a smaller diploma for Zeke and Jason. But soon, their tears were wiped as Taylor rose from her chair for her Valedictorian speech.

**(as/n: the '' is the place where there will be a flashback at the end of the speech.)**

"Thank you everyone for making our time at East High so… educational. In the past for years at East High, we've grown in our love for education, each other, and our lives. We've learned that nothing should be taken for granted; that lives can end in one short moment.

We've learned that friendships can change, and that we don't have to have friends that all do the same thing. I think we owe a lot of these newfound friends to Gabriella Montez.

The teachers at East High have been quite simply, amazing to everyone. They are true inspirations for our lives. They were there for everything, a shining beacon of hope in our moments of darkness, and throwing streamers and confetti when we wanted to scream from the rooftops our happiness. Luckily they were there to keep us off the roof at school.

East High has been an experience I will never forget for the rest of my life. The opportunities it has made accessible to us are more numerous than the star's in the sky. Thank you everyone for coming here today to help us celebrate four great years of education, friendship, hardship, and the things we cannot face alone."

_The first period English Literature class was sitting in their desks taking notes on the books sitting in front of them. The class was to be over in twenty minutes when the Geography class came running into the room. _

_Kelsi Neilson looked up to see her friends, Sharpay Evans and Gabriella Montez, with terrified expressions on their faces. Kelsi noticed that her friend who was in the literature class, Taylor McKessie, had noticed the girl's looks, too._

_Gabriella walked over to them and spoke in a small, shaky voice, "Troy, Zeke, Jason, and Chad were in a car crash on the way back from their out of town game this morning," her voice began to crack and Kelsi and Taylor's faces fell, "They were crossing an intersection when a drunk driver slammed into the right side of the car," a tear slid down her face._

_Taylor squeaked, "Are they okay?"_

_Kelsi answered, "Of course they're not okay! How can you even ask that? Where are they, Gabriella?"_

_Gabriella's already tear streaked face was now rained upon by a fit of tears._

_Sharpay stepped in, "They're in the hospital. We won't know anything until we see it on the news," they all ran over to the television where a reporter was talking…_

"_The four boys in the car hit by the drunk driver were immediately rushed to the hospital. They are all in very bad condition. Doctors have told us that if anything happens we will know about it. The drunk driver is also in a bad condition; doctors have told us that he is slipping in and out of consciousness. Oh, here we have our first report. Chad Danforth, who was sitting on the left passenger's side, is in stable condition."_

_Taylor began to cry her heart out. She leaned against the wall and sobbed as the teachers comforted her and students looked at her with sad eyes until they were directed back to the monitor._

"_We have our second report now. Troy Bolton, who was driving the car, is now in stable condition."_

_Gabriella looked up from her knees. She watched the TV closely now, her heart racing inside._

"_The third report is in. I am very sorry to announce that Zeke Baylor, who was sitting on the right of Troy Bolton, died a moment ago."_

_Sharpay looked up in disbelief, "No, no!" she began to shake uncontrollably. _

_The counselors were called and the students ushered out of the room._

"_And our fourth report. Jason Cross, who was sitting next to Chad Danforth, is in stable condition. Oh, wait, we have another report. Jason Cross died suddenly after being in stable condition for a few minutes._

Taylor walked away from the podium as Sharpay, Ryan, and Troy got up to take the lead parts in the class song.

_Nants ingonyama bagithi baba  
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama  
Nants ingonyama bagithi baba  
Sithi uhhmm ingonyama  
Ingonyama  
Siyo Nqoba  
Ingonyama  
Ingonyama nengw' enamabaal  
Ingonyama nengw' enamabala_

_Ingonyama nengw' enamabala  
From the day we arrive on the planet  
And, blinking, step into the sun  
There's more to see than can ever be seen  
More to do than can ever be done  
There's far too much to take in here  
More to find than can ever be found  
But the sun rolling high  
Through the sapphire sky  
Keeps great and small on the endless round  
It's the Circle of Life  
And it moves us all  
Through despair and hope  
Through faith and love  
Till we find our place  
On the path unwinding  
In the Circle  
The Circle of Life  
It's The Circle of Life  
And it moves us all  
Through despair and hope  
Through faith and love  
Till we find our place  
On the path unwinding  
In the Circle_

_The circle of life_

"Ladies and gentleman, I present to you East High's graduating class, the class of 2007!" Principal Matsui shouted after the song was over. The graduates took off their caps and threw them into the air. They threw the tears and the anger into the sky with those caps, but while the caps came down the tears and anger seemed to lessen just a bit, and maybe, just maybe, they could move on with their lives without a tear of sadness.

Gabriella was starting to head over to her mom when Ryan stopped her. "I noticed when you were thanking people that you didn't mention your dad…" Gabriella's happy smile turned to a look of stony disgust which stopped Ryan from continuing his sentence.

"My dad is dead to me."

**As/n: Well then. That's that. By the way, this oneshot is the one thing that got me inspired in my writer's block. I'm sorry if it isn't great. Okay, Gabriella's dad isn't actually dead; he is just divorced with her mother and doesn't care about them anymore. Thanks! Please review, but no flames.**


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